Dynamic diffractive liquid crystal lens

ABSTRACT

In an embodiment, a multi-layer lens stack includes first liquid crystal material enclosed between a first diffractive lens structure and a first substrate surface having a first alignment layer disposed thereon and second liquid crystal material enclosed between a second diffractive lens structure and a second substrate surface having a second alignment layer disposed thereon. The first and second liquid crystal materials assume a homeotropic alignment relative to the first and second substrate surfaces, respectively, in a first mode. The first and second alignment layers are respectively configured to align the first liquid crystal material along a first direction and the second liquid crystal material along a second direction, substantially orthogonal to the first direction, in a second mode. The multi-layer lens stack has a first optical power in the first mode and a second optical power, different from the first optical power, in the second mode.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.14/937,135, filed on Nov. 10, 2015, all of which contents are herebyincorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to the field of optics, and inparticular but not exclusively, relates to ophthalmic devices such ascontact lenses and intraocular lenses.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Accommodation is a process by which the eye adjusts its focal distanceto maintain focus on objects of varying distance. Accommodation is areflex action (but can be consciously manipulated) and is controlled bycontractions of the ciliary muscle.

As an individual ages, the effectiveness of the ciliary muscle degrades.Presbyopia is a progressive age-related loss of accommodative orfocusing strength of the eye, which results in increased blur at neardistances. This loss of accommodative strength with age has been wellstudied and is relatively consistent and predictable. Presbyopia affectsnearly 1.7 billion people worldwide today (110 million in the UnitedStates alone) and that number is expected to substantially rise as theworld's population ages. Techniques and devices that can helpindividuals offset the effects of Presbyopia are increasingly in demand.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments of the invention aredescribed with reference to the following figures, wherein likereference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various viewsunless otherwise specified. The drawings are not necessarily to scale,emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles beingdescribed.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an ophthalmic lens systemincluding a dynamic diffractive liquid crystal lens, in accordance withan embodiment of the disclosure.

FIGS. 2A-C are cross-sectional illustrations of a dynamic diffractiveliquid crystal lens, in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional illustration of a dynamic diffractive liquidcrystal lens, in accordance with another embodiment of the disclosure.

FIGS. 4A & B are illustrations of a contact lens system including adynamic diffractive liquid crystal lens, in accordance with anembodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional illustration of an eye with an implantedintraocular lens system including a dynamic diffractive liquid crystallens, in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of an ophthalmic lens system including a dynamic diffractiveliquid crystal lens are described herein. In the following descriptionnumerous specific details are set forth to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the embodiments. One skilled in the relevant art willrecognize, however, that the techniques described herein can bepracticed without one or more of the specific details, or with othermethods, components, materials, etc. In other instances, well-knownstructures, materials, or operations are not shown or described indetail to avoid obscuring certain aspects.

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “anembodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic described in connection with the embodiment is includedin at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, theappearances of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” invarious places throughout this specification are not necessarily allreferring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features,structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner inone or more embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an ophthalmic lens system 100including a dynamic diffractive liquid crystal lens, in accordance withan embodiment of the disclosure. The illustrated embodiment ofophthalmic lens system 100 includes control circuitry 105, dynamicdiffractive liquid crystal (“LC”) lens 110, and an enclosure 115. Theillustrated embodiment of control circuitry 105 includes a controller120, a power source 125, charging circuitry 130, and communicationcircuitry 135.

Ophthalmic lens system 100 may be implemented as a smart contact lensthat mounts over a user's eye or as an intraocular lens (“IOL”) that maybe implanted into the anterior chamber, the posterior chamber, or otherlocations of the user's eye. In various embodiments, both controlcircuitry 105 and dynamic diffractive LC lens 110 are disposed withinenclosure 115. Enclosure 115 is an optically transmissive material(e.g., transparent, clear, etc.) that seals the internal components andprotects the eye. Enclosure 115 may have concave and convex surfacessimilar to a contact lens, have generally flat surfaces, or otherwise invarious embodiments. In a contact lens embodiment, enclosure 115 may beimplemented as a hydrogel or other permeable polymer material thatpermits oxygen to reach the eye, or non-permeable materials (e.g.,glass, plastic, silicon) may also be used. In an IOL embodiment,enclosure 115 may be implemented as a silicon enclosure, or otherhermetically sealable materials. Of course, other optically transmissiveand biocompatible materials may be used.

Controller 120 includes the logic that coordinates the operation of theother components of ophthalmic lens system 100. Controller 120 may beimplemented as hardware logic (e.g., application specific integratedcircuit, field programmable gate array, etc.), software/firmware logicexecuted on a general purpose microcontroller, or a combination of bothhardware and software/firmware logic. Power source 125 may beimplemented using a variety of power storage devices including arechargeable battery and/or capacitive elements. Charging circuitry 130is coupled to power source 125 for charging power source 125 and mayinclude an inductive charging element, a photovoltaic element, amicroelectromechanical systems (“MEMS”) charging unit that uses naturalmotion to generate a current, or otherwise. Communication circuitry 135is coupled to controller 120 to provide external communicationstherewith. Communication circuitry 135 may include a passive backscatterantenna (e.g., RFID tag) or an active antenna if power budgets permit.

Ophthalmic lens system 100 includes dynamic diffractive LC lens 110 toprovide variable optical power that may be dynamically adjusted duringoperation under the coordination and influence of control circuitry 105.In one embodiment, dynamic diffractive LC lens 110 has two modes ofoperation each with a different optical power. These modes are activatedunder electrical influence from control circuitry 105. In oneembodiment, the first mode provides a first optical power for distancevision and the second mode provides a second optical power, differentfrom the first optical power, for short distance vision (e.g., readingor computer monitor distances). In one embodiment, the first mode is adefault mode that persists in the absence of an applied voltage whilethe second mode persists when control circuitry 105 is actively applyinga bias voltage to dynamic diffractive LC lens 110. This configurationprovides a failsafe mode where the user's vision defaults to distancevision (e.g., for driving) should control circuitry 105 fail or run outof power.

FIGS. 2A-C are cross-sectional illustrations of a dynamic diffractive LClens 200, in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure. Dynamicdiffractive LC lens 200 is one possible implementation of dynamicdiffractive LC lens 110. FIG. 2A illustrates a cross-sectionalillustration of dynamic diffractive LC lens 200 while FIG. 2C is aclose-up illustration of a portion of the same showing details ofelectrode pairs and alignment layers. The illustrated embodimentincludes LC material 205, LC material 210, diffractive lens structure215, diffractive lens structure 220, substrate surfaces 225 and 230,electrode pair 235, electrode pair 240, alignment layers 245, andalignment layers 250 (note, the electrode pairs and alignment layers areonly illustrated in FIG. 2C so as not to clutter the other drawings).

LC material 205 is enclosed between diffractive lens structure 215 andsubstrate surface 225 while LC material 210 is enclosed betweendiffractive lens structure 220 and substrate surface 230. Thesestructures are vertically aligned to form a multi-layer lens stack. Thismulti-layer lens stack can be operated in at least one of two modes. Inthe first mode, LC materials 205 and 210 assume a homeotropic alignment(illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2C) relative to substrate surfaces 225 and230. The first mode causes the multi-layer lens stack to have a firstoptical power. In the second mode, a voltage is applied across LCmaterials 205 and 210 causing the liquid crystals to orient themselvesas illustrated in FIG. 2B. The second mode causes the multi-layer lensstack to have a second optical power, different from the first opticalpower. The first and second optical powers of the first and secondmodes, respectively, refer to the optical power experienced by light 260incident through the multi-layer lens stack along a trajectory 265 thatis substantially normal to substrate surfaces 225 and 230.

The difference in optical power between the first mode and the secondmode stems from the different refractive index experienced by light 260as it passes through LC materials 205 and 210 depending upon itsorientation. In the first mode, LC materials 205 and 210 are bothoriented such that light 260 experiences the ordinary refractive index(n_(o)). In the illustrated embodiment, the first mode occurs when themajor axis of both LC materials 205 and 210 aligns perpendicular orvertical to substrate surfaces 225 and 230, respectively. This alignmentis referred to as homeotropic alignment. The ordinary refractive indexn_(o) is polarization insensitive (i.e., non-birefringent) for light 260incident parallel to the major axis. In the first mode, the LC materials205 and 210 are both homeotropicaly aligned and therefore the collectivelens structure of the multi-layer lens stack is polarization insensitivealong normal trajectory 265.

If diffractive lens structures 215 and 220 are formed of a clear oroptically transmissive material having a refractive index of n_(sub),then the interface between LC materials 205/210 and diffractive lensstructures 215/220 has an index difference of |n₀-n_(sub)| in the firstmode. If the difference is greater than zero, then the diffractiongrating of diffractive lens structures 215 and 220 will have opticalpower. If the difference is zero, the interface has no index differenceand the diffraction grating of diffractive lens structures 215 and 220will have no optical power. The diffraction efficiency changes withincreasing mismatch in the refractive indexes of diffractive lensstructures 215 and 220 and LC materials 205 and 210, respectively.

In the second mode, LC materials 205 and 210 orient themselvesorthogonally to the homeotropic alignment position and orthogonally toeach other (see FIG. 2B). In one embodiment, the second mode isactivated via the application of voltages across LC materials 205 and210 via electrode pairs 235 and 240. This realignment of the LCmaterials 205 and 210 causes light 260 incident along the normaltrajectory 265 to experience the extraordinary refractive index (n_(e)).Referring to FIG. 2B, during the second mode the major axis of LCmaterial 205 is aligned horizontally while the major axis of LC material210 is aligned orthogonally into the page. In this orientation, LCmaterials 205 and 210 are birefringent or polarization sensitive alongthe normal trajectory 265 for light 260 where one polarization will seen_(o) and the orthogonal polarization will see n_(e). However, in thesecond mode, LC materials 205 and 210 are of orthogonal orientation aswell, so that as light 260 passes through the multi-layer lens stack inthe second mode, half of light 260 experiences the extraordinaryrefractive index n_(e) when passing through LC material 205 and theother half experiences the extraordinary refractive index n_(e) whenpassing through LC material 210. Accordingly, in the second mode, LCmaterials 205 and 210 are collectively polarization insensitive alongthe normal trajectory 265.

The alignment orientation of LC materials 205 and 210 is selected byboth the application (or lack thereof) of voltages across electrodepairs 235 and 240 as well as the configuration of liquid crystalalignment layers 245 and 250 and the type of LC material itself (i.e.,LC belonging to a class of materials that are characterized as having anegative dielectric anisotropy). It is the negative dielectricanisotropy characteristic that allows LC materials 205 and 210 to behomeotropically aligned (FIG. 2A) and orient in the presence of anapplied voltage (FIG. 2B). The creation of liquid crystal alignmentlayers is known in the art. Example techniques for conditioningalignment layers 245 and 250 includes applying a rubbing direction orotherwise. In one embodiment, alignment layers are formed of a polyimidematerial. The alignment layers 245 and 250 are conditioned to provideorthogonal alignment between LC materials 205 and 210 in the presence ofan applied voltage (illustrated in FIG. 2B). The orientation between LCmaterials 205 and 210 may be reversed via appropriate conditioning ofalignment layers 245 and 250.

Electrode pairs 235 and 240 may be fabricated of a clear, conductivematerial such as indium tin oxide (“ITO”) or otherwise. Electrode pairs235 and 240 may share a common ground electrode (e.g., the electrodes onsubstrate surfaces 225 and 230 may be tied together) or not. In oneembodiment, the voltages applied across electrode pairs 240 and 235 arealternating current (“AC”) voltages (e.g., 4V rms).

In the illustrated embodiment, substrate surfaces 225 and 230 areopposite sides of a planar slab substrate. In one embodiment,diffractive lens structures 215 and 220 as well as the planar slabsubstrate are fabricated of a common material (e.g.,PolyMethylMethAcrylate or PMMA) or other optically transmissivematerials. In other embodiments, diffractive lens structures 215 and 220are formed of a material having a common refractive index (n_(sub)),while substrate surfaces 225 and 230 may or may not have a differentrefractive index than n_(sub).

In one embodiment, the materials used to form diffractive lensstructures 215 and 220 are selected such that in the first mode when novoltage is applied across electrode pairs 235 and 240, n_(o)approximately equals n_(sub). The modulation depth (D1) of the surfacerelief diffractive optic structures can be given by:

$\begin{matrix}{{{D\; 1} = \frac{\lambda}{\left( {n_{e} - n_{sub}} \right)}},} & \left( {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 1} \right)\end{matrix}$

where λ is the design wavelength, which may be selected to be 550 nm(the peak of the photopic response of the human eye). In an embodimentwhere diffractive lens structures 215 and 220 are fabricated of PMMAhaving an n_(sub)=1.4928 at 550 nm and MLC-2079 available from EMDPerformance Materials Corp. having an n_(e)=1.4937 at 550 nm, D1 isapproximately 3.6 um. The overall thickness D2 of LC materials 205 and210 can be less than 15 um thick and in some embodiments less than 10 umthick. This facilitates a relatively thin overall multi-layer lens stackwell suited for use within a contact lens or IOL device. Of course otherdimensions (larger or smaller) may be used. For example, D1 may be 3.6um±1.4 um for peak photopic response within the visual spectrum. Adynamic diffractive LC lens based upon these materials and designprinciples can generate a polarization insensitive off-state (e.g.,first mode) where the diffractive lens structures are nulled to thepoint of being nearly undetectable by the human eye and generate opticalpower in the on-state (e.g., second mode) with high efficiency and alsobe polarization insensitive. In one embodiment, the default off-state(e.g., first mode) is selected to be a state that corresponds to auser's distance vision while the active on-state (e.g., second mode) isselected to be a state that corresponds to a user's nearsighted vision(e.g., reading or computer vision). This configuration provides a safedefault mode in the event of failure or power depletion. However, inother embodiments, the first and second modes may be reversed ifdesirable for a given application.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional illustration of a dynamic diffractive LClens 300, in accordance with another embodiment of the disclosure.Dynamic diffractive LC lens 300 is another possible implementation ofdynamic diffractive LC lens 110 illustrated in FIG. 1. The illustratedembodiment of dynamic diffractive LC lens 300 includes LC material 305,LC material 310, diffractive lens structure 315, diffractive lensstructure 320, and substrate surfaces 325 and 330. Though notillustrated, substrates surfaces 325 and 330 further include electrodepairs and alignment layers disposed thereon. Dynamic diffractive LC lens300 operates in the same manner using the same principles as dynamicdiffractive LC lens 200; however the orientation of diffractive lensstructures 315/320 and substrate surfaces 325/330 have been switched toplace diffractive lens structures 315 and 320 in the center surroundedby substrates surfaces 325 and 330. Diffractive lens structures 315 and320 may be fabricated from a unitary component or from two separateelements bonded back-to-back along dotted line 350.

FIGS. 4A & B are illustrations of a contact lens system 400 including adynamic diffractive liquid crystal lens, in accordance with anembodiment of the disclosure. Contact lens system 400 is one possibleimplementation of ophthalmic lens system 100 illustrated in FIG. 1. Theillustrated embodiment of contact lens system 400 includes a substrate405, a dynamic diffractive LC lens 410, an enclosure 415, a controller420, a power source 425, and an antenna 430. Enclosure 415 has a sizeand shape that mounts over the cornea of an eye. In the illustratedembodiment, enclosure 415 includes an external side 412 having a convexshape and an eye-ward side 413 having a concave shape. Of course,contact lens system 400 may assume other shapes and geometries includinga piggyback configuration that attaches to a surface of an eye-mountablecarrier substrate having an overall shape that resembles a conventionalcontact lens.

In the illustrated embodiment, controller 420, power source 425, andantenna 430 are all disposed on ring-shaped substrate 405, whichencircles dynamic diffractive LC lens 410. The components are alldisposed within enclosure 415. In one embodiment, antenna 430 is coupledto controller 420 to operate as both a passive backscatter antenna foroff-device communications and as an inductive charging antenna forcharging power source 425. Dynamic diffractive LC lens 410 may beimplemented with embodiments of dynamic diffractive LC lens 200 or 300.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional illustration of an eye 515 with an implantedIOL system 500 including a dynamic diffractive liquid crystal lens, inaccordance with an embodiment of the disclosure. IOL system 500 is onepossible implementation of ophthalmic lens system 100 illustrated inFIG. 1 and further may include an implementation of dynamic diffractiveLC lens 200 or 300. IOL system 500 is illustrated as being implantedwithin the posterior chamber 505 behind iris 510. However, IOL system500 may be implanted into other locations, as well, such as anteriorchamber 520 disposed between iris 510 and cornea 525.

The above description of illustrated embodiments of the invention,including what is described in the Abstract, is not intended to beexhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed.While specific embodiments of, and examples for, the invention aredescribed herein for illustrative purposes, various modifications arepossible within the scope of the invention, as those skilled in therelevant art will recognize.

These modifications can be made to the invention in light of the abovedetailed description. The terms used in the following claims should notbe construed to limit the invention to the specific embodimentsdisclosed in the specification. Rather, the scope of the invention is tobe determined entirely by the following claims, which are to beconstrued in accordance with established doctrines of claiminterpretation.

What is claimed is:
 1. An ophthalmic apparatus, comprising: first liquidcrystal material enclosed between a first diffractive lens structure anda first substrate surface having a first alignment layer disposedthereon; and second liquid crystal material enclosed between a seconddiffractive lens structure and a second substrate surface having asecond alignment layer disposed thereon; wherein the first liquidcrystal material, the second liquid crystal material, the firstdiffractive lens structure, and the second diffractive lens structureare arranged to form a multi-layer lens stack with a plurality ofoperational modes to provide variable optical power, wherein theplurality of operational modes includes at least a first mode to providea first optical power and a second mode to provide a second opticalpower different than the first optical power, wherein in an absence ofapplied voltages across the first and second liquid crystal materialsthe ophthalmic apparatus defaults to the first mode to provide the firstoptical power, and wherein during the second mode the second opticalpower is provided, at least in part, by application of voltages acrossthe first and second liquid crystal materials to align the first andsecond liquid crystal materials substantially orthogonal to each other.2. The ophthalmic apparatus of claim 1, wherein during the first modethe first optical power is provided, at least in part, by a homeotropicalignment of the first and second liquid crystal materials with respectto the first substrate surface and the second substrate surface.
 3. Theophthalmic apparatus of claim 2, wherein the first optical powerprovided by the first mode is for near vision.
 4. The ophthalmicapparatus of claim 3, wherein the second optical power provided by thesecond mode is for distance vision.
 5. The ophthalmic apparatus of claim2, wherein during the second mode the first alignment layer isconfigured to align the first liquid crystal material along a firstdirection and the second alignment layer is configured to align thesecond liquid crystal material along a second direction, and wherein thefirst direction is orthogonal to the second direction.
 6. The ophthalmicapparatus of claim 5, wherein the first direction and the seconddirection are orthogonal to the homeotropic alignment.
 7. The ophthalmicapparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of operational modes furtherincludes one or more additional modes dependent on the application ofvoltages across the first and second liquid crystal materials, andwherein each of the one or more additional modes provide a respectiveoptical power different than the first optical power and the secondoptical power.
 8. The ophthalmic apparatus of claim 1, wherein the firstand second liquid crystal materials have a first refractive index duringthe first mode and a second refractive index, different than the firstrefractive index, during the second mode, for light incident through themulti-layer lens stack along a normal trajectory through the first andsecond substrate surfaces.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein thefirst refractive index of the first and second liquid crystal materialsis polarization insensitive along the normal trajectory in the firstmode, wherein the second refractive index of the first and second liquidcrystal materials are polarization sensitive along the normal trajectoryin the second mode, and wherein the multi-layer lens stack iscollectively polarization insensitive along the normal trajectory duringthe second mode.
 10. The ophthalmic apparatus of claim 1, furthercomprising: a first electrode pair disposed to apply a first voltageacross the first liquid crystal material; and a second electrode pairdisposed to apply a second voltage across the second liquid crystalmaterial, wherein the application of voltages includes the first voltageand the second voltage, and wherein the first and second electro pairsshare a common ground.
 11. The ophthalmic apparatus of claim 1, whereinthe first and second diffractive lens structures are disposed betweenthe first and second substrate surfaces.
 12. The ophthalmic apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein first and second diffractive lens structures are eachformed of clear plastic, having a modulation depth of approximately 3.6μm±1.4 μm, and are less than 15 μm thick.
 13. An ophthalmic lens system,comprising: a diffractive liquid crystal (“LC”) lens including: firstliquid crystal material enclosed between a first diffractive lensstructure and a first substrate surface; and second liquid crystalmaterial enclosed between a second diffractive lens structure and asecond substrate surface, wherein the first and second diffractive lensstructures and the first and second liquid crystal materials arestacked; and a controller coupled to the diffractive LC lens, thecontroller including logic that, when executed by the controller, willcause the ophthalmic lens system to perform operations comprising:activating a first mode that homeotropically aligns the first and secondliquid crystal materials to the first and second substrate surfaces,respectively, to induce a first optical power of the diffractive LClens, wherein the first mode that homeotropically aligns both the firstand second liquid crystal materials is a default mode of the diffractiveLC lens that persists in an absence of applied voltages across both ofthe first and second liquid crystal materials; and activating a secondmode that aligns the first liquid crystal material along a firstdirection and aligns the second liquid crystal material along a seconddirection, substantially orthogonal to the first direction, to induce asecond optical power of the diffractive LC lens, different from thefirst optical power.
 14. The ophthalmic lens system of claim 13, whereinthe first optical power of the first mode that persists in the absenceof applied voltages across both of the first and second liquid crystalmaterials configures the diffractive LC lens for near vision.
 15. Theophthalmic lens system of claim 14, wherein the second mode is activatedby application of voltages across the first and second liquid crystalmaterials to align the first and second liquid crystal materialssubstantially orthogonal to each other.
 16. The ophthalmic lens systemof claim 14, wherein activating the second mode configures thediffractive LC lens for distance vision.
 17. The ophthalmic lens systemof claim 13, further comprising: a first alignment layer disposed acrossthe first substrate surface, the first alignment layer configured tocause the first liquid crystal material to align along the firstdirection upon activating the second mode; and a second alignment layerdisposed across the second substrate surface, the second alignment layerconfigured to cause the second liquid crystal material to align alongthe second direction upon activating the second mode.
 18. The ophthalmiclens system of claim 13, wherein the first and second liquid crystalmaterials have a first refractive index during the first mode and asecond refractive index, different than the first refractive index,during the second mode, for light incident through the diffractive LClens along a normal trajectory through the first and second substratesurfaces, wherein the first refractive index of the first and secondliquid crystal materials is polarization insensitive along the normaltrajectory in the first mode, and wherein the second refractive index ofthe first and second liquid crystal materials are orthogonallypolarization sensitive along the normal trajectory in the second mode,and wherein the diffractive LC lens is collectively polarizationinsensitive along the normal trajectory during the second mode.
 19. Theophthalmic lens system of claim 13, further comprising: a firstelectrode pair disposed to apply a first voltage across the first liquidcrystal material; and a second electrode pair disposed to apply a secondvoltage across the second liquid crystal material, wherein the secondmode comprises application of the first and second voltages.
 20. Theophthalmic lens system of claim 19, wherein the first and secondelectrode pairs share a common ground.